For the first time since March 2011, not a sliver of Texas is in exceptional drought. But after a string of 100-degree days and a hotter than normal summer ahead, the state is easing back toward the dreaded d-word.
A new drought report by the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth notes that 96 percent of Texas is abnormally dry and that 73 percent is mired in moderate drought. Parts of Central and West Texas remain in severe drought.That's tracking a larger trend: Nearly half of the United States is now categorized as abnormally dry or in a drought, the most since October 2002, climatologist Dan Huckabee said."If anything, we're more likely to head into drought than get out of it," Huckabee said Friday.Plentiful winter and early spring rains pulled North Texas out of last year's dire dry spell, but since April the faucet has turned off."The spring was dry -- not just June, but April and May as well," Huckabee said. "If you go through what's normally the wettest season of the year without much rain, it's not a good position to be in as summer starts."Dallas/Fort Worth Airport got soaked with 18.15 inches of rain (7.32 inches above normal) from December to March, but only 8.72 inches (3 inches below normal) from April to June.At Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, the April-June rain was 8 inches below normal. In Decatur and Alvord, the gap was 9 inches.Agriculture in the area is still faring well, but the long-term above-normal temperatures are likely to stress crops, the report said.North Texas peaches, corn and sorghum crops are in good to excellent condition. But grasses on grazing lands have not fully recovered from last year. Grasshoppers have been "incredibly abundant," while the honeybee population remains significantly reduced, the report said.The wet winter and early spring refilled depleted reservoirs, and water levels across North Texas remain above 90 percent capacity. But managers of underground aquifers are keeping a close eye on their monitoring wells.This week, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, which supplies water to about 2 million people in Central Texas, for the first time declared Stage IV pumping restrictions in Uvalde County west of San Antonio.The restrictions require groundwater permit holders, which include municipalities, businesses and agricultural users, to reduce pumping from the aquifer by 35 percent of their annual authorized use. The last time the monitoring well in Uvalde fell this far was in 1958, said Elizabeth Smith, spokeswoman for the aquifer authority."We haven't had significant rainfall in a long time," she said, adding that if it doesn't rain, San Antonio users could face similar restrictions by the end of July.Conditions are better on the Ogallala Aquifer, said Jim Conkwright, manager of the High Plains Water District in Lubbock."In general, we're better off than we were a year ago, but we need rain," he said. "In my opinion, we are getting to the point where we need some help. The crops look pretty good, but this last week's high temperatures and wind didn't help. It is critical we have rain in the next week or two."The encouraging word is that this summer's heat is unlikely to match last year's."That's a pretty high bar," Huckabee said. "Even if we are warmer than normal with strings of 100-degree days we won't rival last summer, which was extraordinary. The odds are just not in favor of that happening again this summer."Steve Campbell, 817-390-7981Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
